BOXING IN THE OLYMPICS: A HISTORY
Posted on | August 14, 2007 | 2 Comments
Olympic boxing history, fight folk lore and the mythology of pugilism
by Greg Goodrich, boxing press editor in chief
BOXING PRESS EXCLUSIVE: ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED DECEMBER 2004
Olympic History:
*Olympics named after the Greek god Olympus *Olympics (first mythological, then historical)
*Olympics reestablished by Iphitus (in 800 BC) *Olympics first held (boxing on 4th day) in 776 BC
The Grecian Olympics were followed by the Pythian, Nemean, Isthmian, Panathenaic, English Commonwealth and the Cretian Isthmos Games (alluded to the Bible: 1 Corinthians 9:26). Greek boxers Etruria and Aolus were consecrated to the god Pisa and served Jupiter by winning the Nemean Games. The Greek Olympics were abolished by Theodosius I (in 393 AD). The Greek International Olympic games were revived (in 1896). The Gemini Constellation signifies twin brothers (Castor the wrestling champion; and Polydeuces or Pollux, the boxing champion). Zeus was the father of Polydeuces, chief Grecian god. Heracles (Hercules) was the god of might, so knick named for ‘Hercules’ Mike Weaver. Hector the Trojan general is shared by Hector ‘Macho’ Camacho. Evander is the god of myth. Ironically enough, Evander Holyfield is called ‘the Real Deal’. The only Heavyweight Champion to win the prestigious Val Barker Cup (Most Outstanding boxer) was Roy Jones, Jr. at Light Middleweight Silver Medalist in Seoul, South Korea Games (in 1988) [Jones was robbed in arguably the worst Olympic decision in history. His name should appear as Heavyweight Champion and Amateur Olympic gold medal winner.] The only years (since 1904) there were no International Olympic games were 1912 and 1916 (due to World War I). The only Olympic boxers to win three Gold medals were Teofilo Stevenson (in 1972, 1976, 1980) and Felix Savon (in 1992, 1996, 2000). The only Olympic boxers to win four Gold medals were Onomastos (688 BC, 684 BC, 680 BC, 676 BC) and Tisandros (572 BC, 568 BC, 564 BC, 560 BC).
Notable Olympic Boxing History:
1st Modern Olympics held at 1896 Greece games 1st Boxing demonstration at 1904 St. Louis games
1st Boxing medals issued at 1908 London games 1st Boxing Olympics at 1920 Belgium games
Mythology & Folk Lore:
1st recorded boxing event- (Homers 23rd Illiad: 1100 BC)
1st Inventor of Mythological boxing- Apollo (in 688 BC)
1st Mythological fatality in prizefight- Apollo vs. Phorbas (circa 683 BC)
1st recorded Mythical bout- Epeus v. Euralus (23rd Illiad, pg. 684)
1st colored ring posts- invented by Jem Belcher (in 1800)
Olympic Boxing Classes & Weight Divisions:
[American lbs, European kilograms, English stones] One pound (lb as unit of mass) is equal to 16 ounces (oz).
One kilogram (also equal to 1,000 grams) is equal to 2.2 lbs. One stone is equal to 14 pounds (pounds rounding 5/8th).
Super Heavyweight: [202lbs + above; 91.6 kg or 14 stone, 4 pounds] – (est. 1984-end 2004)
Heavyweight: [179-201lbs*; 81.2 – 91.2 kg; 12 stone, 8 pounds – 14 stone, 8 pounds]– (est. 1904)
Light Heavyweight: [166-178lbs; 75.3 – 80.7 kg; or 11 stone, 9 pounds – 12 stone, 7 pounds – (est. 1920)
Middleweight: [157-165lbs; 71.2 – 74.8; or 11 stone, 2 pounds – 11 stone, 8 pounds] – (est. 1904)
Light. Middleweight: [148-156lbs; 67.1 – 70.8 kg; or 10 stone, 6 pounds – 11 stone, 1 pound] – (est. 1952)
Welterweight: [140-147lbs; 63.5 – 66.7 kg; or 10 stone – 10 stone, 5 pounds] – (est. 1904)
Light Welterweight: [133-139lbs; 60.3 – 63.0 kg; or 9 stone, 5 pounds – 9 stone, 9 pounds] – (est. 1952)
Lightweight: [126-132lbs; 57.2 – 59.9 kg; or 9 stone – 9 stone, 4 pounds] – (est. 1904)
Featherweight: [120-125lbs; 54.4 – 56.7 kg; or 8 stone, 6 pounds – 8 stone, 9 pounds] – (est. 1904)
Bantamweight: [113-119lbs; 51.3 – 53.9 kg; or 8 stone, 1 pound – 8 stone, 5 pounds] – (est. 1904)
Flyweight: [107-112lbs; 48.5 – 50.8 kg; or 7 stone, 6 pounds – 8 stone] – (est. 1904)
Lt. Flyweight: [106 – below; less than 48.1 kg; or below 7 stone, 6 pounds] – (est. 1968)
First Olympic Boxing Champions (12 classes changed to 11):
Super Heavyweight- Tyrell Biggs (in 1984)
Heavyweight- Sam Berger (in 1904)
Light Heavyweight- Edward Eagen (in 1920)
Middleweight- Charles Mayer (in 1904)
Light Middleweight- Lazlo Papp (in 1952)
Welterweight- Albert Young (in 1904)
Light Welterweight- Charles Adkins (in 1952)
Lightweight- Harry Spanger (in 1904)
Featherweight- Oliver Kirk (in 1904)
Bantamweight- Oliver Kirk (in 1904)
Flyweight- George Finnegan (in 1904)
Light Flyweight- Francisco Rodriguez (in 1968)
Professional Heavyweight Champions/Olympian Winners:
GOLD (First)- World, NSYAC, NBA Heavyweight Champion Floyd Patterson- Gold medal winner in the Middleweight category (in 1952). World, NSYAC, NBA, WBA, WBC Heavyweight Champion Cassius Clay (Muhammad Ali)- Gold medal winner in the Light Heavyweight category (in 1960). World, NSYAC, NBA, WBC, WBA Heavyweight Champion Joe Frazier- Gold medal winner in the Heavyweight category (in 1964). World, WBA, WBC, IBF Heavyweight Champion George Foreman- Gold medal winner in the Heavyweight category (in 1968). World, IBF Heavyweight Champion Michael Spinks- Gold medal winner in the Middleweight category (in 1976). World, WBA, WBC Heavyweight Champion Leon Spinks- Gold medal winner in the Light Heavyweight category (in 1976). WBO Heavyweight Champion Ray Mercer- Gold medal winner in the Heavyweight category (in 1988). World, WBC, WBA, IBF Heavyweight Champion Lennox Lewis- Gold medal winner in the Super Heavyweight category (in 1988). WBO, IBF Heavyweight Champion Wladimir Klitschsko- Gold medal winner in the Super Heavyweight category (in 1996). [Roy Jones, Jr. was WBA Heavyweight champion, but was robbed of the Gold medal at Light Middleweight (in 1988).]
SILVER (Second)- WBO Heavyweight Champion Francesco Damiani (silver medal winner) in the Super Heavyweight category (in 1984). World, WBA, WBC, IBF, WBO Heavyweight Champion Riddick Bowe (silver medal winner) in the Super Heavyweight category (in 1988). WBA Heavyweight Champion Roy Jones, Jr. (silver medal winner) in the Light Middleweight category (in 1988). WBO, IBF Heavyweight Champion Chris Byrd (silver medal winner) in the Middleweight category (in 1992).
BRONZE (Third)- World, WBA, WBC, IBF Heavyweight Champion Evander Holyfield (bronze medal winner) in the Light Heavyweight category (in 1984).
Olympic Rules & Regulations:
Uniform in all 190 AIBA affiliated countries. Headgear is compulsory for all competitions. Singlet tops required for both male and females. Vaseline and grease is strictly prohibited. The referee is to protect the boxers and enforce the rules. Cuts, injuries or being outclassed is just cause to stop a bout. Boxers who less then 10 fights are considered novices. There are a total of 21 forbidden fouls in amateur boxing. To win a decision by points, you must land more ‘white hand’ punches that your opponent. Knockdowns and body punching are given no additional points. A boxer is given two maximum standing 8 counts in one round. The fight is stopped after 4 total counts. 10 ounce gloves for competitions; white area of glove denotes striking surface. 4 rounds for male competitions; 3 round for females: and shorter rounds for boxing novices under age 17. Olympic rings are 16-20 feet square (4.9 – 6 meters), versus professional rings which are typically 16-24 square feet (4.9 – 7.3 meters). Professional fighters can request ring size.
Men’s Senior Weight Categories include: 106 lbs, 112 lbs, 119 lbs, 125 lbs, 132 lbs, 141 lbs, 152 lbs, 165 lbs, 178 lbs, 201 lbs and 201 lbs plus. Women’s Senior Weight Categories include: 101 lbs, 106 lbs, 110 lbs, 114 lbs, 119 lbs, 125 lbs, 132 lbs, 138 lbs, 145 lbs, 154 lbs, 165 lbs, 176 lbs, 189 lbs and 189 lbs plus. Junior Olympic Senior Cadet Division (Boys, Girls, ages 15-16) include 80 lbs, 85 lbs, 90 lbs, 95 lbs, 101 lbs, 106 lbs, 110 lbs, 114 lbs, 119 lbs, 125 lbs, 132 lbs, 138 lbs, 145 lbs, 154 lbs, 165 lbs, 176 lbs, 189 lbs, 189 lbs, 201 lbs, and 201 lbs plus for American Domestic tournaments. Junior Olympic Intermediate Division (Boys, Girls ages 13-14) include: 70 lbs, 75 lbs, 80 lbs, 85 lbs, 90 lbs, 95 lbs, 101 lbs, 106 lbs, 110 lbs, 114 lbs, 119 lbs, 125 lbs, 132 lbs, 138 lbs, 145 lbs, 154 lbs, 165 lbs, 176 lbs, 189 lbs and 201 lbs. Junior Olympic Junior Division (Boys, Girls ages 11-12) include: 60 lbs, 65lbs, 70lbs, 75lbs, 80lbs, 85lbs, 90lbs, 95lbs, 101lbs, 106lbs, 110lbs, 114lbs, 119lbs, 125lbs, 132lbs, 138lbs, 145 lbs. Junior Olympic Bantam Division (Boys, Girls ages 8-10) include 5 pound weight increments.
Olympic Mythology Champions:
23rd Olympic Games (688 BC)- Onomastos, 24th Olympic Games (684 BC)- Onomastos, 25th Olympic Games (680 BC)- Onomastos, 26th Olympic Games (676 BC)- Onomastos, 27th Olympic Games (672 BC)- Diappos, 32nd Olympic Games (652 BC)- Komaios, 33rd Olympic Games (648 BC)- Komaios, 48th Olympic Games (588 BC)- Pythagoras, 52nd Olympic Games (572 BC)- Tisandros, 53rd Olympic Games (568 BC), 54th Olympic Games (564 BC), 55th Olympic Games (560 BC)- Tisandros, 59th Olympic Games (544 BC)- Praxidamas, 65th Olympic Games (520 BC)- Glaucos, 70th Olympic Games (500 BC)- Philon, 71st Olympic Games (496 BC)- Philon, 72nd Olympic Games (492 BC)- Ikkos, 73rd Olympic Games (488 BC)- Diognetos, 74th Olympic Games (484 BC)- Euthymos, 75th Olympic Games (480 BC)-
Theagenes, 76th Olympic Games (476 BC)- Euthymos, 77th Olympic Games (472 BC)- Euthymos, 78th Olympic Games (468 BC)- Menalkes, 79th Olympic Games (464 BC)- Diagoras, 83rd Olympic Games (448 BC)- Akousilous, 84th Olympic Games (444 BC)- Alkainetos, 85th Olympic Games (440 BC)- Kleomachos, 94th Olympic Games (404 BC)- Eukles, 95th Olympic Games (400 BC)- Demarchos, 97th Olympic Games (392 BC)- Phormion, 99th Olympic Games (384 BC)- Damoxenidas, 101st Olympic Games (376 BC)- Labax, 103rd Olympic Games (368 BC)- Aristion, 105th Olympic Games (360 BC)- Philammon, 110th Olympic Games (340 BC)- Asamon, 111th Olympic Games (336 BC)- Mys, 112th Olympic Games (332 BC)- Satyros, 113th Olympic Games (328 BC)- Satyros, 120th Olympic Games (300 BC)- Archippos, 121st Olympic Games (296 BC)- Kallippos, 141st Olympic Games (216 BC)- Kleitomachus, 149th Olympic Games (184 BC)- Epitherses, 159th Olympic Games (144 BC)- Xenothemius, 165th Olympic Games (120 BC)- Agesarchos, 177th Olympic Games (72 BC)- Atyanas, 187th Olympic Games (32 BC)- Thaliarchos, Nikophon (AD 8), Demokrates (AD 25-33), Melankomas (AD 49), Herakliedes (AD 93), Marcus Tullius (AD 141-145), Photion (AD 173).
Note of Disclaimer: this written material may be disseminated, published, syndicated or otherwise reproduced, without prior expressed, written consent, provided that its original source, intellectual property and exclusive authorship are attributed to Boxing Press Editor in Chief Greg Goodrich. Copy righted. 2007. All rights reserved. All statistics and records have been verified by due diligence searches via microfiche newspapers; perusal of Boxiana, Fistiana and Pugilistica: verification from the Ring Record Book: data obtained from bkbworld.com, boxrec.com and cyberboxzingzone.com: and information gathered in the public domain. If any name is missing and/or any data is incorrect, please contact the author so that a correction can be made.